Lamp-wick-snuffing device.



'No. 713,956, Patbnted Nov. l8. I902.

m. CAMERON.

LAMP WICK SNUFFING DEV-ICE.

(Application filed May 31, 1902.)

(No Model.)

uventoz 71/ witnesses ccvwwvxf 'NITED STATES KATEINT OFFICE.

MURDICK CAMERON, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DANIEL D. MURRAY, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

LAM P-WICK-S NUFFING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,956, dated November 18, 1902. Application filed May 31,1902. Serial No. 109,701- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MURDIOK CAMERON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp-Wick-Snuffin g Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others IO skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to lamp-wick snuffers, and particularly to that class of snuffers which is attached to the burner and is adapted to [5 trim or snuif the wick without extinguishing the light or necessitating the removal of the chimney, and has for its object the provision of snuffing means adapted by diagonal movement to shear the snuff from the wick.

It consists, in combination with a burner provided with a tape-wick tube having a curved upper edge, of an irregularly curved and bent wire formed with a shearing portion, bearing portion, an operating crank por- 2 5 tion and a balancing portion, and means for loosely securing said wire to said burner.

It also comprises certain other novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a burner with the hood thrown back, showing my said invention. Fig. 2 represents a view in side 5 elevation of the same, partly broken away.

Fig. 3 represents a detail perspective of said shearing-wire forming part of my said invention.

I am aware that some former attempts have been made to construct a snuffer adapted to the same general purposes; but heretofore the results of such attempts have appeared objectionable for the reason that they either extinguish the light, fail to carry the snufi clear of the wick, thereby operating unevenly,

or are impractical for operation over a curvedtop wick and wick-tube, thereby requiring a foreign operation to clip the corners of the wick to produce a desirable flame. To obvi- 5o ate these and other difficulties, I construct a burner having a body portion 64 provided with a tape wick b evenly and convexly curved at its upper end, as at c, said burner also being provided with a suitable hood (1, preferably removably attached or hinged in any suitable manner to said body portionand formed with a slot 6 for the passage of the flame. Notches f are also formed in the lower edge of said hood to accommodate the bearing or horizontal portion of the shear-wire, 6o hereinafter described. Said body portion is also formed with a plurality of perforations or air-passages surrounding said wick-tube and with a vertical slot g for the passage of the operating crank portion of the shear-wire 65 hereinafter described. Said body portion is also provided with arigidly-suspended tankengaging portion h of any suitable construction, and with a wick-operating key i of any suitable construction, and with a chimney- 7o retaining finger k of any suitable construction. I further form said body portion with vertically-extending horizontally-apertured lugs Z, the apertures of which are in alinement with each other, or with any other suitable means for receiving and journaling the bearing portions of said shear-wire; but said means may, if desired, be removably or otherwise attached to said body portion. I further provideashear-wire formed with straight 8c horizontal bearing portions m and an intermediate bent and curved shearing portion 11, adapted to longitudinally conform to the contour of the upper end of said wick-tube and transversely to have a diagonal relation to the same. Said shear-wire is further provided near one end with an upwardly-projecting balance-arm portion 19, preferably short and formed with a counterweight bulb terminal '1", and said shear-wire is provided near its other 0 end with a crank portion 3, projecting downwardly through said slot g and terminating in a handle portion t. The shearing portion n of said wire is preferably formed with cutting edges. 5

In operation,the upper end of the wick having been first trimmed to the curve of the upper end of said wick-tube, thus producing a flame of desirable contour, the shear-wire is operated by reciprocating the handle 75, producing an oscillation of the portion 19 and s and a partial rotary movement around its longitudinal axis of the portions m and a transverse movement of the portion 11. across the top of said wick and tube, the cooperating of said portion at with the edge of said tube producing a shearing effect upon said wick, the flame jumping said wire from the lighted portion of the Wick to the portion temporarily extinguished by the passage of said wire. Said portion 12, after operation, lies wholly clear of the top of said wick and to the side thereof and is brought to such position either by hand or by said counterbalance-arm p and bulb r and is bysuch counterbalance retained in such position. The snuff is thus out clean and wholly removed from the wick and tube.

Of course it will be understood thatI have enumerated certain old elements in connection with my improvement; but these are disclosed only to make clear the relations of the improved features to those that are already well known. It will further be obvious that the upper end of the wick-tube need not be curved in order that the present improved device may be employed; but the same may be straight, and the straight shearing portion may be employed in the place of the curved portion n. Any other slight changes may also be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a lamp-wick snuffer, the combination with a burner-body and a Wick-tube, of a snufier formed of a Wire positioned to move across the end of the wick-tube and bent downwardly and outwardly on a horizontal plane from said tube, said horizontal portion forming journals resting upon the burnerbody, bearings engaging said journals for retaining the wire in position, a suitable hood adapted to inclose the wick-tube, said hood being notched, and the said journals extending therethrough, one end of said wire extending through a slot in the gallery and forming an operating-handle, the opposite end of the wire extending upwardly outside the hood, and a counterbalance formed on the said upper end, substantially as described.

2. In a lam p-wick snuft'er, the combination with a burner-body, and a wick-tube, of a shutter formed with a portion arranged to extend diagonally across the end of the wicktube, and horizontal journals resting upon the burner-body on each side of the wicktube, bearings engaging said journals for holding them in position, a slotted hood adapted to fold downwardly over the wick-tube, said hood being provided with oppositely-arranged notches in its lower edge, the journals of said snuffer extending through said notches, a depending end portion formed in the snuffer extending through an elongated slot in the gallery and provided with a handle which may be engaged outside the lamp chimney and burner, an upwardly-extending portion at the other end of the snufier projecting outside the hood and inside the lamp chimney, and a counter balance or weight formed on the upper end thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MURDICK CAMERON.

Witnesses:

JAMES T. WATSON, PHINEAS AYER. 

